Historical September–October 2017 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
The Ferris wheel idea is dead. So what should be at Delmar and Skinker?
Another auto-oriented fast-food joint?
A parking lot?
A park?
A traditional building?
The Skinker DeBaliviere Neighborhood Plan calls for a mixed-use building much like that adorning the rest of the Delmar Loop.
The proposed form-based code in the TOD Plan for the Delmar Loop and Forest Park DeBaliviere Metrolink Stations placed the parcel in the Boulevard Type 2 category, with heights of 3-12 stories and 40 to 130 feet.
The FBC would set no parking minimum.
The parcel is currently zoned F: Neighborhood Commercial with a height limit of 3 stories or 50 feet.
The parking minimums for office use: 1 space per 1250 sq. ft. in excess of 7,500. For retail use smaller than 3,000 sq. ft., no parking is mandated. One space per 700 sq. ft. in excess of 3,000. For Residential, one space per unit.
I drew up some basic floor plans to see what might fit. Meeting current height and parking regulations, I could fit 25 apartments, 5000 sf of retail space, and 31 parking spots.
An elevator and ground-floor apartments are included because the neighborhood plan identifies senior-compatible housing as a need in short supply.
To see these, go to sdtimes.org or see my commentaries and photos at nextstl.com.
If we can get over our parking fetish and not take the government-mandated requirements as sacred, we can go taller, making the land more productive, thus increasing further the tax base without increasing tax rates to help make the city solvent. And more people living in the neighborhood would mean more people to patronize local businesses without bringing a car. Four stories- 36 apartments, 0.78 parking spots per dwelling unit. Five stories 47 apartments, 0.53 parking spots per dwelling unit.
I wouldn’t go above five so as to not dwarf the New Cote Brilliante Church next door. For a sense of the scale of these buildings, the existing building and Union and Delmar is three stories and the under-construction building at 4400 Manchester is five stories and both are on lots about the same size as Delmar and Skinker. Assuming one person per bedroom, the three-floor configuration is at 69 people per acre, four-floor 100 per acre, five-floor 131 per acre.
In order for the city’s population to be 600,000, its land must average 15 people per acre. That’s my vision, what do you think should be at Delmar and Skinker?
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, September–October 2017.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times2017_09.pdf, printed page(s) 1; PDF page(s) 1.
